Seraikela-Kharsawan police on Saturday evening arrested three CPI-Maoist rebels involved in the Chandil sub-division's Khukru weekly market Maoist attack in which five policemen were killed on the evening of June 14.
The police arrested Josheph Purty alias Tipura (35), Lakhan Sardar (32) and Enom Hassa Purty (29), all hardcore rebels belonging to the group of naxal commander Mahraj Pramanik.
The police have recovered three cell phones from them and also gathered information about the movement of dreaded rebel Mahraj Pramanik.
Revealing about the breakthrough, Seraikela-Kharsawan superintendent of police, Karthik S said that last evening they got a tip off about the whereabouts of three naxals who were involved in the attack on a police party at Khukru weekly market in June.
"A task-force of the Seraikela-Kharsawan police set up to nab the rebels and they nabbed the three, one after another, on Saturday evening. The arrested rebels were interrogated resulting in important information about their activities in Chowka Chandil and Kuchai area and about the Khukru weekly market attack," said Karthik while addressing newsmen at Adityapur on Sunday.
The SP said that Lakhan Sardar who is very close to the rebel commander Mahraj Pramanik was involved in all the rebel attacks taken place in Seraikela-Kharsawan district during the past two months.
"During the interrogation Lakhan revealed that during the attack engineered by the rebels at Khukru Haat, not only five police men were killed and as many assault rifles were taken away by the attackers, but one of the naxals was fatally injured.
Lakhan Sardar divulged that during the attack on the cops at Khukru weekly haat, one of the slain police men had opened fire at the attackers, causing a naxal to sustain shot in his right eye. The naxal succumbed to his injury in the next few hours, leading the remaining rebels to bury the body at a nearby jungle. We are trying to get what Lakhan has said, verified," said the superintendent of police.
Five policemen were killed as CPI-Maoist rebels attacked a patrol party at Khukru block under Chandil sub-divisional in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district, about 70 Kms away from here on June 14. The rebels who had come in two bikes attacked the police party which was patrolling at the vicinity of a weekly-haat known as Khukru haat under Tiruldih thana area in Khukru block at about 6.30 pm. The rebels who were reportedly six in number had killed the policemen by attacking them with knives. Having killed them, they took away the rifles of the cops and fled.